Coming Out
by Cherrie Keane
Summary: Richie decided to come out to the people who hold a roof over his head. For a super genius, this kid sure is stupid. Virgil/Richie fluff, oneshot, un-beta'd. Also my first fan fic in FOREVER. Be gentle.


OH SNAP GUESS WHOS BEEN OUT OF COMMISION FOR OVER 2 YEARS. Me, that's who.

Anyway, this is my first fan fiction in...many many years. I have recently become obsessed with this fandom and its endless amount of fan fics, so I decided to hop right on the bandwagon.

Hope you guys like it!

Disclaimers: I don't own static shock and I'm not getting any sort of monetary gain from this either. Don t sue, kaythnx?

* * *

"Who in the world could _that_ be?" Was Sharon Hawkins response to the late night ring from the doorbell.

Virgil, who had been hiding the remote to the television from his sister at the time, frowned when Sharron stopped playing their little game in order to acknowledge the abrupt interruption.

"Virgil, why don't you answer it?" came his dads suspicious reply. His voice carried from the kitchen into the living room, where Virgil reluctantly stood, relinquishing the remote he was sitting on to his sister, and made his way to the door. Virgil flashed a brief thumbs up motion to his father from the kitchen doorway, vaguely signaling that he would answer with caution. Robert Hawkins nodded, but did not return his gaze to the mountain of community center bills that he had piled on the kitchen table. His eyes never left his son as he crossed the carpeted threshold onto the wood floor at the foot of the door.

The door wasn't even fully open when Virgil heard his sisters muffled gasp.

On his doorstep, soaking wet and looking very much like a wet dog, stood Richie Foley. Virgil's eyes widened slightly in response to his best friends disheveled appearance. His sweatshirt was stuck to his pale skin, and his blonde hair was plastered to his face. Even with his foggy glasses, Virgil could see that the other boy had been crying recently, and as he stood, almost apologetically, on Virgil's front porch he looked like he was fighting back yet more tears.

"He-Hey V. I was...um...in the neighborhood..." said Richie, attempting a joke and failing miserably as his voice cracked at the last word. He pressed both lips together, making them turn white from the pressure.

"Richie, what _happened?_" It was the only response Virgil could think of. Surely he hadn't gotten this way from patrolling. They had canceled patrolling tonight, because of the rain. Static wasn't much use when he was wet, and gear wasn't much use without static.

Virgil swept his eyes over Richie one more time, dully noting that he was still in his street clothes and didn't look physically hurt. Richie's face, however, was an entirely different story. His eyes flashed with something that Virgil couldn't exactly place before they fell to the floor. He hesitated before answering, not sure if this was the time or place. Eventually, urgency, and his lack of will to fight it anymore, Richie responded.

"I...I came out to my parents V." He said to the drenched welcome mat. Even though Virgil could barely hear his response over the clamor of the rainstorm, he winced as though Richie had screamed it. Virgil could think of nothing to say. His mind had gone completely blank, with the exception of the phrase '_oh no_' flashing in the front of his head.

Luckily, Robert Hawkins was faster on the uptake.

Virgil hadn't even heard his father come from the kitchen, but there he was, faster and quieter than the Flash, touching Richie's shoulder and steering him inside the house.

"Richie, I'll call your house and let them know where you are." Said Mr. Hawkins in the calmest voice he could muster. He looked down at the blonde boy meaningfully for a second, squeezing his shoulder briefly, before walking back into the kitchen and grabbing the phone from the wall jack as soon as it was within reach.

For a moment, the living room was completely quiet. The 3 of them, Sharon, Virgil and Richie, did not move from where they were, Robert seemingly the only one in the house that had decided a course of action. Sharon, who had been watching this entire display from the couch, watched Richie with concern and sympathy. She watched the insecure way that he stood, contrasting it to his usual demeanor in the Hawkins home, and recalled her years of training as a counselor. Richie didn't need to say how his parents had handled this revelation about their only son, their response was written all over him.

From the kitchen, all three of them could hear the sound of Robert punching in the numbers of Richie's home phone. Richie turned around abruptly at the sound and bit his lip before addressing his best friend.

"I...uh...should go change." Said Richie, which roughly translated, Virgil knew actually meant _"I don't want to hear this conversation"_. Richie flashed hm an urgent look as Virgil nodded in understanding.

"Laundry is on the bed man." Said Virgil. Richie was already halfway up the stairs when Virgil had finished speaking. He watched the other boy go, a feeling comparable to swallowing a large ice cube developing in his stomach.

Once Richie was out of sight, Sharon took the time to look at her brother.

Virgil stood, still holding the door open and staring up at the stairs. The expression that crossed his face was somewhere lost between confusion, concern, and some other emotion Sharon wasn't sure that she wanted to know. She let out a sigh, and walked over to her sibling.

"Close the door." She said in the kindest voice she could muster. Virgil snapped his gaze from the stairs, and looked at his sister, surprised to see that she had moved.

"Wha?" he sputtered.

"The door. Its raining. Close it." She said, losing a bit of the kindness she had worked so hard to keep in her voice. Virgil complied, taking more time than was strictly necessary turning the lock and deadbolt. With one last short look at her brother, she went into the kitchen, where Robert Hawkins was already immersed in a full conversation.

"--here with us. I was calling to make sure it was OK that he spent the--" Roberts voice cut off unexpectedly, and even from the living room, Virgil could hear Richie's dad yelling harsh words from the receiver. Robert waited until the other man was done before speaking in a controlled voice.

"Calm down Mr. Foley, there's no need to--" Once again Robert was cut off. This time however, Virgil was almost positive he heard the word 'fag' thrown into Mr. Foley's words. Virgil felt the familiar sensation of electricity gathering in his fingers.

He got up and without a second glance at his the scene before him, fairly ran upstairs.

Virgil stopped at the door to his room and willed himself to get his powers under control. He now understood why Richie had retreated so quickly. Virgil clenched his teeth in control, trying to calm himself and the electricity dancing between fingers.

Once he was sure that he had his feelings safely tucked away, he turned the handle to his door.

Richie was just securing the drawstring on a pair of sweat pants when Virgil entered his room. He noted that Richie hadn't bothered to turn the lights on. For a moment, the two boys just stared at each other, neither really knowing how to address the situation before them.

"I'm sorry bro." said Richie, breaking the silence. Virgil, who had been opening his mouth to ask his what had happened, stood for a split second, not really understanding what his best friend had just said.

Once he did, however, Virgil shook his head roughly

"Don't be man. Its not your problem if..." Virgil found himself desperately searching for words to complete the his sentence. He sighed, knowing that new words were not going to come, and crossed the distance between them. He reached out an open hand and lightly touched Richie's arm for support before continuing. "You've always got a place here, you know? I...uh...don't be sorry Rich." He mumbled the last few words.

Richie looked up at Virgil's touch, and Virgil himself noted how cold the other boy's skin was. He had never seen Richie so pale in his life. The blond boys skin was also slightly wet. His ashen appearance contrasted oddly with the severe color in his cheeks and nose. Virgil had a feeling that he had been rubbing his eyes before he entered the room, for the area around them was irritated and pink.

"Dude, you look like one of those ghosts from Pacman." He said, leaning over, grabbing the blanket off of his bed, and holding it out for the other boy to take.

"Those things are blue bro." Said Richie raising a eyebrow and taking the blanket. He wrapped himself in the blanket and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling his knees in close to his chest.

"I thought they were white." said Virgil, taking a moment to look at the boy on his bed.

"No, definitely blue." said Richie confidently.

Virgil shrugged, and grabbed his desk chair, swinging it forward and sitting with legs on either side of the backboard.

"How long have you been out there?" Said Virgil after a moment.

Richie swallowed in response to the death of their light-hearted conversation. Virgil wanted to get down to business tonight.

"About an hour. The walk here is pretty long." Said Richie, obviously trying to sound as normal as possible despite his runny nose and still chattering teeth. "And its raining. I didn't even have time to grab a jacket before...before I left." Said Richie, skating over whatever he was about to say. Virgil knew that the fact that it was raining wasn't the real reason it had taken so long for Richie to get there. But that wasn't the only thing his friend was nonchalantly skating over.

With a long sigh, Virgil decided to tackle the words unsaid head-on.

"Richie..._why?_" He asked, stressing the last word and hoping that the other boy knew what he was referring to.

Virgil knew that Richie was gay, and Richie knew that he knew. He had come out months ago, before either of them had graduated. When Richie told him, Virgil honestly couldn't say that he was surprised; He wasn't. He had always known that Richie was different. So when the other boy had sat him down to actually tell him, Virgil's only response was to laugh and say _'That's what you're so worried about?'_. After that, both of them had laughed it off, taking amusement that Richie would go through so much trouble just to come out to his best friend. In truth, Virgil had been relieved that Richie had come out first, for it took out the guesswork of their developing relationship. It had went unsaid that Richie had a slight crush on his best friend, and for that Virgil was grateful. At the time, it wasn't something he wanted to explore.

But now it was 6 months later. They were both enrolled at the Dakota community college, and as the two of them sat in the cold wet setting that was early November, Virgil Hawkins couldn't help but think that he couldn't hold it in much longer. In the past few months, Virgil had gone from finally finding out about Richie's sexuality, to watching his best friend date plenty of guys from other schools. With each new love (or sex, as was mostly the case) interest, Virgil found himself growing more and more...he didn't want to say jealous. That couldn't be it.

"_Concerned"_ thought Virgil, knowing that even though he pushed it away, _jealousy_ wasn't going without a fight.

In truth, he hated watching his best friend date other guys. He hated watching Richie give himself away to a new dude in what seemed to be every other week. He hated watching Richie give himself up to anyone that wasn't him. He hated-- wait...what was that last one?

Virgil hated the way he thought sometimes. Almost as much as he hated all of Richie's boyfriends.

"Virg? Are you listening?" The boy in question snapped Virgil out of his musings.

"Wassit?" He managed to slur out in reply.

Richie rolled his eyes. "I said that my dad found Shane's e-mail. I think he read a good chunk before he...before I told him. I sort of...froze I guess." He finished lamely.

Virgil shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Why did you tell him though?" He asked, determined to keep his eyes on Richie.

Richie looked away for a moment, and then brought his gaze back to his best friend. "He caught me off guard man. And plus...plus, I couldn't hide it from him. My dad may be an asshole," Virgil winced at his best friends use of an explicative. Richie never cursed. "but he isn't stupid. Shane had gotten pretty...graphic in those e-mails." Said Richie, shifting uneasily in the blankets.

"Which one is Shane?" Asked Virgil, trying to steer the conversation away from the context of said e-mails.

"That guy I met at the comic store, remember?" Offered Richie conversationally.

Yes, Virgil _did_ remember, and he also remembered that out of all of Richie's boyfriends, Shane had been #4 on the top ten list of guys to pummel as his alter-ego once Richie was done with them.

"Yeah, I remember." Said Virgil briefly before addressing a different strain on the topic."Your not still--"

"No, I'm not. That's what the e-mail was for." said Richie in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Don't worry about him." Said Virgil. To reiterate the point he was trying to make, he cracked his knuckles on the edge of his chair's backboard.

Richie looked up, slight alarm on his face. "Don't hurt him!"

Virgil grinned slightly. "Hurt him? Me? Noooo" He spoke in a mock-innocent voice. "I would _never_ do such a thing!" Richie smiled.

"But _Static_ on the other hand..." Said Virgil, his grin widening and Richie's smile turning into laughter.

"So _that's_ why I cant keep a man! They all must think I have a superhero boyfriend or something." Said Richie between chuckles. He was kidding of course, but the blush that bloomed across Virgil's face didn't seem to recognize this. Virgil was suddenly thankful for his dark complexion.

"Maybe you should date tougher guys." He offered, trying to cover up the presence of his warm cheeks with laughter.

Richie put a finger to his lips in mock concentration before speaking. "Hmm, you're right. Hey, do you know if Francis is available? I've always had a thing for hot-heads" Richie said, his smile threatening to split his face.

Virgil's smile almost vanished. "No." he said flatly, and Richie broke out in a fresh bout of laughter. After a moment, Virgil couldn't help the snicker that escaped his lips.

"Could you imagine?" gasped Richie, holding his sides and laughing in earnest now. Virgil gave it a thought before cracking up along with his best friend. For a moment, the both of them just laughed, bursting out in a fit of renewed giggles whenever either of them caught sight of the mirth on the other's face. They could almost forget the task at hand.

That was before there was a knock on the door of course.

They both turned around, laughter dying away, being replaced by looks of worry. The door knob turned and it was Sharron, holding a bag of chips and two sodas. She tossed them on the bed and regarded Richie. She smiled.

"Daddy says its OK for you to stay as long as you need to. There is a guest room across the hall and...we can talk about getting some of your things tomorrow..."She brushed a stray hair out of he face. "..if you still want to stay." She added, trying her hardest to look kind, yet firm.

Richie stared at her for a moment, and nodded. "Thanks Sharron."

Sharron smiled a little wider in response before looking at her brother. Her gaze only lasted a second, yet its intensity did not reflect its short lifespan. There were few things that Virgil and Sharon Hawkins agreed eye-to-eye upon, but this meaningful look was not one of them. Virgil nodded is compliance, before she flashed another smile at Richie, and left.

Of course Richie had caught the unsaid words between the brother and sister. He _was_ a super genius.

But he felt better not addressing it directly.

Thankfully, Virgil didn't.

"What she means is that its OK if you want to stay with us. You practically live here anyway. What her and pops want is for you to actually talk to your parents, make sure its OK." Virgil paused, trying to remember all the things that Sharron's stare had said. "They might be mad now, but...what about your mom?" He said, unintentionally changing the subject as the though crossed his mind.

Richie looked down at his feet and hugged his knees closer.

"She didn't say anything. She didn't even defend me. She just...stood there while he..while I got kicked out."

Virgil bit his lower lip, hating Mr. Foley, and Mrs. Foley by association. "So they actually kicked you out? He said it?" Said Virgil, hoping that the other boy would understand.

Richie nodded, still staring at his feet. "Among other things, yeah."

Virgil's heart sank. No, the prospect of his best friend living with them was not a bad thing, in fact, it was an outrageously good thing. And convenient. They went to the same college, Richie drove Virgil to school every morning in the 'static mobile' (They couldn't think of any clever name for the homemade vehicle, so they decided to make it a play on Batman's infamous ride.), and they spent almost every hour of the day together anyway. No, it was certainly not that.

Its what Richie has to go through to get to this moment.

Virgil knew that his best friend was hiding something more when he explained the Foley's response to his homosexuality. He knew that Mr. Foley had done more than just kick his son out and call him a few names. He knew that Mrs. Foley had tried to defend her son, but couldn't stand up to the dominated presence of her husband.

And Virgil knew that in response to all of this, Richie was lost, and hurt, and just...

Virgil's heart skipped a beat.

He got up from his desk chair and crossed the distance to the bed. He didn't really know what had told him that this gesture would work, or that Richie would even fully understand or accept it, but he knew that it was _something_.

He pushed these thoughts of uncertainty away as he wrapped his arms around his best friend.

Richie sat stunned for a moment. He registered the fact that his friend was very close. He also noticed that his arms were wrapped around him. Some part of him vaguely realized that the heat on his face was from Virgil's cheek.

Did he understand however? Did he fully comprehend the wonderful feeling of warmth and wanting in the pit of his stomach?

No, not really.

But he didn't really care.

He returned the embrace, and for just a heartbeat, he allowed his mind to relax. He allowed his logic, and fear, and pain to be shoved away and only concentrated on the boy hovering in front of him.

How long they stood there like that, neither of them could say.

It was the thunder that broke them out of their trance. Richie jumped when the sound blasted across the sky. Virgil felt the boy beneath him twitch in response, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"How your afraid of thunder when you hang out with a walking lighting rod I will never know" He said, pulling away from the blond boy finally and snatching the snacks off the foot of the bed. He climbed onto his mattress, crawled the distance around Richie and settled against the cool wall at the opposite edge of the bed. Richie smiled.

"Thanks V." He said, something soft and warm dancing in his voice. The corners of Virgil's lips turned upward as he nodded and handed Richie the bag of chips and a soda.

The blond boy ripped the bag open and stuck his hand inside. If Richie was eating then he would be OK for the moment. Virgil grinned a little wider.

"So, I wanted to ask before Friday," Said Richie scooting a little closer to the other boy and facing him. "Have you gotten started on your sociology essay? You know its due after Thanksgiving". The weight in the center of Virgil's chest seemed to loosen. He hadn't even noticed it was there until it had faded significantly.

"No not really. I'm having trouble concentrating" He said, popping open his can of soda and taking a sip, the cold carbonation burning his throat as it went down.

It was at this point that both boys knew that all that was to be said tonight about the previous conversation was said.

There would be time for Richie to divulge larger secrets of what had preceded this moment, but now was not it.

Part of Virgil wanted to press further, and make the boy next to him talk about what happened. He wanted to hear what Mr. Foley had said, what Mrs. Foley had not said, what Shane's e-mails contained, and most of all, how Richie felt about all this.

But he knew that Richie wouldn't want to talk about it tonight, and he wouldn't force him.

The night however, pressed on, growing steadily darker and colder. The rainstorm outside continued as well, pounding on until its inevitable demise. It lost some of its steam an hour or two later, and reduced constant drizzle.

In the time it had taken for the storm to die down, both boys had settled into a warm, comfortable disposition together. During the night, they had shifted on Virgil's mattress. V still leaned against the crack between the wall and his bed, but he had descended to lay his head on a pillow. Richie had long since relinquished the bed sheets and shared with his partner, grabbing a pillow of his own and resting on his side. Virgil's hand was in his hair, absentmindedly twirling one strand over and over between his fingers. Richie kept his eyes closed, but remained conscious for the most part.

Both of them were exhausted from the nights events. For the past few hours, they had done nothing but speak to each other. They talked about their patrol tomorrow, when their sociology papers were due, how Daisy and Frieda both urged them to go away to college, and everything in between. Sharron and Robert had long ago gone to sleep, Virgil and Richie both hearing them stop by their door to eavesdrop on their conversation before retiring. This incited some laughter on both their parts ("What do they think were doing?" "Bro, I don't even want to_ know._")

But after two hours of laughing, thinking, and talking, their voices were rough and deep from all the use, and they both were almost incoherent. The sleepy silence that they had fallen into threatened to carry either of them away any moment.

It was Richie who broke the calm spell of the silence one last time.

"Hey man, I think your dad wants me to sleep in the guestroom." He mumbled, drawing in a little closer to Virgil's unintentional heat. He was always at least 5 degrees warmer than the average human, simply because of the electricity that constantly ran though his veins. Virgil moved in Richie's direction, feeling the other boys head settle in between the crook of his shoulder and neck. He could no longer reach Richie's hair, so he settled for wrapping his arm around the blond boys torso. Virgil didn't know how long he could stay awake as he opted to close his heavy eyelids.

"Yeah Rich, something tells me that's not going to happen." Virgil murmured into Richie's soft blond hair. He felt an arm drape itself across his stomach and the boy next to him give a rough chuckle.

Virgil, who knew that Richie had won the 'who can stay awake the longest' game that they had been unknowingly playing, smiled as he slipped into unconsciousness, hoping that, come morning, he would still feel the warm presence of the boy next to him.

* * *

Yeah yeah, I know, lack of OMGMAKINOUT scene. It'll be OK, Rome wasn't built in a night you know? :)


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